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Thursday, August 03, 2006

I've known about Temari for a few years. I even have a book on it. Recently I have rediscovered the craft of Temari.

Temari comes from the 8th century Chinese ball game called "kemari". Originally it was made of deerskin and was mainly used by dudes in the Imperial Court. The game caught on in Japan. As time moved on. The balls were used for juggling. Later, the female servants of the Ladies of the Samurai class competed against each other in decorating the balls.

Temari balls have been used as girls toys, props for children's games, keepsakes, and charms.

What I like about the design of the balls is the focus on geometric pattern. It really reminds me of Islamic art. I often wonder if in fact this craft has spread to the Muslim world, and other cultures. Let's get started!

2 comments:

Aren't they? The first time I saw them, I was intimidated by them. It looked complicated, but it's actually not that hard. The ones in the picture are from a Russian temari convention. More picks are on flickr if you are interested.